When I was a 20-year-old university student, I developed an interest in whiskey after a chance encounter at a bar in Utsunomiya, known as the "City of Cocktails."
An unknown gentleman sitting next to me at the counter let me compare Ballantine's 12 Year Old Royal Blue and Gold Seal, which piqued my curiosity.
After tasting Bowmore Claret, I realized the vastness of the whiskey world and became captivated by single malts.
I have visited over 140 whiskey distilleries worldwide and have been involved in selecting and blending more than 100 private bottles.
In March 2013, I obtained a liquor sales license and began operating MALTOYAMA.
In 2020, I launched the T&T TOYAMA project with Takahiko Inagaki of Wakatsuru Saburomaru Distillery.
In 2021, we started the world's first Japanese whiskey bottlers business, thanks to over 40 million yen through crowdfunding.
In April 2022, the T&T TOYAMA Inami aging warehouse was completed, and we began aging whiskey there.